Automobile locking mechanism



Jan. 14, 1930. E. J. MARTEL AUTOMOBILE LOCKING MECHANISM Filed April 29,1926 fizz/610601".- Fdyarfflarid. 7 W 7 v dwgw.

Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES EDGAR J. MARTEL, OF LACONIA, NEWHAMPSHIRE AUTOMOBILE LOCKING MECHANISM Application filed April, 29,

This invention relates to automobile locking devices designed to preventthe operation of automobiles by unauthorized persons. An object of theinvention is to provide a locking v system which will secure theautomobile in several different ways "against unauthorized operation,all the various locking devices being controlled from a single point.Another object of the invention is to provide a locking m system suchthat when the key is removed from the lock, the locking members are allin looking position, the key being so related to the lock that it cannotbe removed while the car is unlocked and capable of being operated.Another object of my invention is to provide means for automaticallybreaking the ignition circuit to the motor when the key is withdrawnfrom the lock.

These and other advantages will be appar- 29 cut from the disclosure ofthe invention in the description which follows and on the drawing, ofwhich,

Figure 1 represents partly in longitudinal section a form of my lockingmechanism applied to a portion of the mechanism of a typical automobileincluding a somewhat conventional showing of the clutch and transmissionmechanisms.

Figure 2 is a detail section of the housing fora portion of the deviceshown in Figu re 1.

Figure 3 shows a modified form of my invention in the unlocked position.H

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. V

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4:, but shows a modified form of ignitionswitch in the locked position.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Figure 3.

Figures 7 8, 9 and 1-0 illustrate the various positions in which theshifter rods may be locked in addition to the position illustrated inFigure 6. p

Referring to the drawing in detail, a casing 10 houses the transmissionmechanism conventionally shown in Figure 1. On the upper portion of thecasing 10 IS mOUIItQCl a smaller casing or housing 11 which may be castintegrally with the casing 10 or may be secured thereto as by boltsextending through 1926. Serial no. 105,343.

the casing 10 and secured from within to prevent tampering. Near thecasing 11 a second casing or housing 12 may be formed which preferablyis designed to extend upwardly above the flooring of the automobile andto house means for operating the locking devices to be described. Withinthe housing 1-2 is positioned a locking member 13 compris ing an upperportion fitted to slide in-the bore of the housing 12 and to be pusheddown as by a rod 14, the lower end of which normally rests on a shoulder15 formed on the member 13. The member 13 is designed to be held down inlocking position by a locking device of any suitable type containedwithin the housing 12, the particular device indie cated being fullydescribed and illustrated in my copending application Serial N 0. 709322filed April 28, 192d, upon which application L ters Patent No. 1,603,089were granted October 12, 1926. The lower portion of the locking member13 is suitably shaped to have a lug 16 in a position to be moveddownward-' ly with the locking member 13 into selected recesses .17formed in the shifter rods 18 which constitute a portion of thegear-shifting mechanism, As is customary in many makes of automobiles,two shifter rods 18 are provided which are selectively actuated by thelower end 19 of a gear shift lever 20, this construction being wellknown in the art. As will appear from Figures 6 to 10, the lug 16 mayengage in recesses 17 so as to lock the transmission selectively in anydesired position, that is, neutral, reverse, or any speed forward.

Contained within the housing. 11 is a switch which is connected into theignition circuit for the motor. This switch comprises a contact 21preferably fixed within the cas ing and insulated therefrom and apivotally mounted blade 22 adapted to make or break the circuit with thecontact 21. The blade 22 is normally held in contact with the mem ber 21as by a spring 23, but when the locking member 13 is depressed in orderto lock the slide bars 18, the blade 22 is swung clear of the contact 21as by a wire or other suitable connection 2 L extending from blade 22through a small aperture 101 in the casing to the lower portion of thelocking memher 13. l/Vhen the member 13 is allowed to rise, the spring23 pulls the blade 22 into contact with the member 21, thus closing theignition circuit. In order to permit access to the inside of the'housing11 for repairing or replacing the parts contained therein, a removableplate is preferably mounted in its side. This plate is indicated clearlyin Figure 2, but is omitted from Figure 1 in order 7 to avoid congestionof details on a small scale. As shown in Figure, 2, the swinging end 26of the blade 22 is made in a hook shape and is adapted to act as a latchto engage a catch 27 on the plate 25, thus preventing the opening of theplate 25 while the transmission is locked. The plate 25 may be mountedin its place in any suitable manner. As shown it is hinged as at 28 soas to swing outwardly; I

Another embodiment of my invention is illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and=6. In this form, the locking lug 16 is formed on a lever 29 which ispivotally mounted as at 30. A spring 31 may be provided to hold thelever 29 normally in unlocked position. As shown in Figure 3, the majorportion of the lever 29 is so shapedas to be inclined with respect tothe horizontal whenin unlocked position.

Positioned closely above this inclined portion is a similarly inclineddisk 32, the lower 7 faceof which exerts a cam action by engaging thevupper surface of the member 29 directly, or engaging a roller 33 setinto its face to minimize friction. Tho inclined disk 32 is secured toor made integral with a vertical stem. 34 which extends upwardly throughthe guide member 12 and may be turned by a key 35.. As will be seen fromFigure 3, turning'the stem 34 and the attached disk 32 from the angularposition there shown will result in the depression of the member 29 andthe locking lug 16 carried thereby, so as to cause the lug 1G to enterinto recesses 17 and to lock the slide bars 18 in any of the positionsillustrated in Figures 6 to 10. It will be obvious to one skilled in theart that many other shapes and types of cams or equivalent mechanismcanbe employed topress the lever 29into locking position, the structureshown in Figure 3 being merely by way of illustration.

Enclosed in the guide or casing 12 are two contact points 36, 37,forming part of the ignition circuit of the motor and suitably insulatedfrom the housing. When this mechanism is used, the usual dashboardignition switch may be dispensed with altogether, the ignition beingcontrolled from the switch comprising the contacts 36 and 37. The uppercontact 36 is preferably made of a spring material and is normallyseparated from the contact member 37 unless pressed thereagainst by thelower end of'the' key 35. By this construction, the removal of the key35 automatically allows the contact member 36 to separate from thecontact 37 and open the ignition circuit, thus stopping the motor.Instead of the contacts 36 and 37, which are held together by the key35, I may secure one contact 370 to the housing 12 as shown in Figure5,and mount anotherv contact 360 to turn with thestem 34,'so that thecontacts 360 and 37 0 will engage when the lever 29 is in unlockedposition,=and will be separated when the lever 29 is in lookingposition. Thus the turning of the key to lock the transmission alsoopens the ignition circuit, and

- the motor cannot thereafter be started until the transmission has beenunlocked.

The key 35 is preferably provided with a notch 38 which engages acomplementary flange in a manner well known in the lock making art, soas to prevent the removal of the key from the lock unless it is in sucha position that the lugs 16 are in lockingengagement with recesses 17.The construction of the lock is not shown in detail, except for threeplungers 39 which prevent the rotation of the movable portion 40 unlessthe proper key is inserted therein. Any suitable variety of lock may beused. The position illustrated in Figure 3 shows the key in place,

the transmission mechanism unlocked, and e the ignition circuit closed.Turning the key 180 degrees from this position will cause the lug 16 toenter into locking engagement with recesses 17 and will place the key ina position to be removed from the lock. Removal therefrom will open theignition circuit. This construction therefore automatically necessitatesthe stopping of the motor when the transmission is locked and alsoprevents the operation of the motor until the trans mission slide rodsare released. By this con? struction also it isimpossible to take anautomobile out leaving the key behind since the key must be in positionwhen the car is operated.

In order to permit access to the interior of the housing 12 for repairsor adjustments of the ignition switch, I may provide-a removable plate41 as indicated in Figures 4 and 5. This plate may be locked in positionas by a catch 42 which is engaged by a latch 43 mounted on the stem 34tov be turned therewith so that when the car is locked, the latch 43 isengaged with the catch 42, thus preventing the removal of the plate 41.

As shown in Figure 3, the housing, 12 opens into the casing 10 with alarge aperture. In order to avoid slashing if oil from the transmissioncase 10 into the housing 12, I provide a closure 44 which may be in theform of a disk adjustably secured to the stem 34 and of a size to lap,over the opening into the housing 12, or the disk may be smaller to fitclosely within the housing 12, in which case it will be secured higherup on the stem 34. Instead ofa disk to turn with the stem 34, I mayprovide a partition forming a part of the casing 10, as in Figures 1 and2, with an aperture just large enough to permit the stem 34 to passtherethrough and turn freely.

Having thus described embodiments of my invention, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that many changes and further modificationsmay be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with an automobile ignition circuit and transmissionmechanism having gear shifter rods, a lock adapted to receive a key,means actuable by the insertion of said key in said lock to close theignition circuit, and means actuable by turning said key in said lock tosecure the shifter rods selectively in any position.

2. In an automobile, an ignition circuit and a gear-shifting mechanismincluding shifter rods, in combination, a device movable to lock saidshifter rods selectively in any of their positions, means actuable tomove said locking device into locking position, and a switch engageableby said means to close said ignition circuit.

3. In an automobile, a housing, a transmission mechanism thereinincluding gear shifter rods, a lever pivotally mounted within saidhousing and movable to lock said shifter rods selectively in any oftheir positions, a spring normally holding said lever out of engagementwith said shifter rods, and cam means engaging said lever and manuallyactuable to move said lever positively into locking position.

4:. In an automobile having an ignition circuit and a transmissionmechanism including gear shifter rods, in combination, a housing oversaid shifter rods having a hollow extension projecting upwardly, a shaftextending upwardly within said housing extension, a lock-barrel having arecess for a key extending therethrough secured to the upper end of saidshaft, a splash-plate secured to said shaft at the lower end of saidhousing extension, a circular cam plate secured on the lower end of saidshaft, a lever within said housing movable by said cam plate to locksaid shifter rods selectively in any of their positions, a springattached to said lever normally holding the lever out of lockingposition, and a pair of spring contact points connected in said ignitioncircuit and located within said housing extension in line with therecess in said lock-barrel and adjacent thereto, whereby the end of akey inserted in said lock-barrel connects said contact points and closesthe ignition circuit.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my sig nature.

EDGAR J. MARTEL.

